It was an exchange of thanks as Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) Prosecutor Brenda Hollis traveled the length and breadth of Sierra Leone, explaining the Court’s Appeals Chamber judgment to people in various communities that were affected by Sierra Leone’s 11 year conflict. In many of these communities, the scars of the conflict still remain. Civilians whose limbs were amputated by rebels still roam the streets. Many still bear the loss of family members while some deal with the stigma of having being raped by rebels. For these crimes, Taylor has been convicted and sentenced to a 50 year jail term. For what they did to make this historic judgment possible, Prosecutor Hollis visited these communities to thank the … Continue Reading

Appeals Chamber judges of the Special Court for Sierra Leone today upheld Charles Taylor’s conviction that was handed down by the Trial Chamber in April 2012 as well as his 50 year prison sentence. This brings an end to several years of judicial proceedings during which the former Liberian president called himself a peacekeeper who made efforts to end the conflict in Sierra Leone. Taylor also called his trial a conspiracy by western countries, led by the United States and Liberia, to keep him out of Liberia. Today, Appeals Chamber judges said Taylor’s categorization of himself and his trial was wrong.

In a jam-packed public gallery full of diplomats, court officials, civil society, journalists, and victims of the conflict in Sierra … Continue Reading

Today, the five-judge panel of the Appeals Chamber at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) upheld the conviction and sentencing of former Liberian president Charles Taylor. In April 2012, Taylor was convicted on 11 charges of aiding and abetting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, including rape, murder, and pillage. The Trial Chamber also convicted the former president of planning, with former RUF commander Sam Bockarie, the attacks on Kono, Makeni, and Freetown, which took place in late 1998 and early 1999. He was later sentenced to a 50 year jail term.

Taylor will serve his jail term in a British prison, as provided for in a previous agreement between the United Kingdom and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

As the final appeal judgment in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor is announced in The Hague, we would like to draw your attention to a six-page briefing paper written by Open Society Justice Initiative. The paper includes a detailed timeline, describes Taylor’s conviction and sentencing, and the prosecution and defense arguments on appeal. The appeal judgment will mark the conclusion of the historic trial in which Taylor became the first former head of state convicted after his trial was concluded by an international criminal tribunal since Nuremburg. Taylor is also the first former head of state to be convicted of various crimes of sexual violence by an international court.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) issued a press release stating that the appeal judgment in the Charles Taylor case will be announced on September 26, 2013. In April 2012, SCSL judges convicted Mr. Taylor on 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of international humanitarian law that occurred from November 1996 to January 2002 during the course of Sierra Leone’s civil war. The judges also convicted the former Liberian president of planning, with former RUF leader Sam Bockarie, attacks on Kono, Makeni, and Freetown, which took place in late 1998 and early 1999. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in May 2012.

On July 19, 2012, both the prosecution and defense teams filed … Continue Reading

A judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone has sentenced Prince Taylor, an investigator for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, to two and the half years in jail after convicting him on five counts of contempt of court.

Prince Taylor was convicted by Justice Teresa Doherty on January 25, 2013, and his sentence was announced on February 8.

Prince Taylor was charged and convicted for interfering with witnesses who testified against Charles Taylor by attempting to induce them to recant their testimony against the former Liberian President. Prince Taylor, according to the court, attempted to do this through Eric Koi Senessie, a former member of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the rebel group which Charles Taylor himself was convicted for … Continue Reading

Oral hearings in the Charles Taylor appeals case continued into a second day on Wednesday, January 23, as both prosecution and defense lawyers responded to each other’s submissions made one day earlier.

On the previous Tuesday, January 22, prosecution and defense lawyers made submissions to a panel of five Appeals Chamber judges, making emphasis mainly on the limits of criminal liability for aiding and abetting a crime based on the findings of Trial Chamber judges. Nearly one year ago, Trial Chamber judges found the former Liberian president guilty of aiding and abetting the commission of serious crimes by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone. The crimes that Taylor was found guilty of aiding and abetting include murder, rape … Continue Reading

On April 26, 2012, Trial Chamber II of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) convicted Taylor of aiding and abetting the commission of serious crimes including rape, murder, and destruction of civilian property committed by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) forces in Sierra Leone from November 30, 1996 to January 18, 2002. The judges further found that Taylor planned an attack on Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. On May 30, 2012, the judges sentenced Taylor to a jail term of 50 years for these crimes.

Today, the parties made oral submissions to the Appeals Chamber. Most of the submissions were about the limits of criminal liability for aiding and abetting a crime. In … Continue Reading

Today, judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone postponed the appeals hearing in the case of former Liberian president Charles Taylor. The hearing was originally scheduled to take place tomorrow and Friday of this week. The Appeals Chamber has now set a date of January 22, 2013 for the hearing to commence.

On April 26, 2012 the trial chamber convicted Taylor of aiding and abetting the commission of serious crimes including rape, murder, and destruction of civilian property by Revolutionary United Front and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council forces in Sierra Leone from November 30, 1996 to January 18, 2002. The judges also found that Taylor helped to plan attacks on three towns, including the diamond rich town of Kono and … Continue Reading

Prosecution and Defense teams in the case of convicted former president of Liberia Charles Taylor will appeal various aspects of the judgment and sentence delivered by the Trial Chamber judges of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). This was made clear in separate filings made by the parties this week.

The Trial Chamber judges on April 26, 2012 convicted Taylor of aiding and abetting the commission of serious crimes including rape, murder, and destruction of civilian property by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) forces in Sierra Leone from November 30, 1996 to January 18, 2002. The judges further found that Taylor helped to plan attacks on three towns, including the diamond rich town of Kono … Continue Reading